Wars....Baptisms....Sasquatches??? (November 18th 2013)

Hi everyone! This is going to be a rather short update, seeing as how I aalllwayyys forget to do this by the time emailing time gets close to the end! This week has been absolutely NUTS! But its been a really rewarding time, we had two baptisms last weekend! :D

Updates:
-Baptisms-

Rebekah- She's ten years old, shy as they come and the SWEETEST thing ever! Her mom was kind of less active, but finally allowed Rebekah to be baptized! We had been teaching her for about two transfers, but she finally accepted a date, and her dad got to Baptize both her AND her eight year old brother! Remember the pictures of the Harry Potter family I sent before?? That's them!!

-Paige- Paige's family was very less active, and started coming back to church not too long before I came to Abbotsford. Her dad had been working a TON, and wasn't really interested in coming back to church until Paige herself said, " Dad, I'm getting baptized, with OR without you"! She's quite the little firecracker, and we love her to pieces ;] Danny, her dad, realized that he didn't want that to be the case, so he worked extrememly hard to become worthy to baptize her. When the day of the event came, he not only could baptize her, but he CONFIRMED her as well! My two companions were both balling, and I beamed with happiness! Its moments like those that make all the difference in the world for us missionaries :] That aside, Danny came up to Sister Bowman and the rest of us when we visted them later that week and said, " Thank you so much for your service.. if it wasn't for Sister Missionaries, I would have never joined the church!"

Its amazing to see the incredible influence the spirit has upon the hearts of people, and upon myself as well. As I reflect back upon all of the many months that I've been on a mission.. it really IS true when Missionaries joke that its like a whole other life out here. We joke that for every week in the mission its like a year of growth. There are only 72 weeks in a sister missionaries life... and I'll be 36 years old on the 20th in missionary years -____- I feel like a hundred and 36 to be honest. But I'm super glad that I've had such a wonderful time, and for the many wonderful people I've gotten to meet! I love you all SO much, and I'll end with a short excerpt from a talk from the General 70 that we got to hear from, Paul V. Johnson:

"We live in a world where peace seems elusive. War, armed conflict, and terrorism constantly take their toll somewhere in the world, and crime, gang violence, and other illegal activities affect the peace in our cities and towns. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and other natural disasters disrupt peaceful lives, and the quakes in the economies of the world have left many struggling.
Some threats to our peace are more individual. Physical or emotional problems, pain, personal debt, addictions, fear, worry for others, and sins—either our own or someone else’s—can obstruct a peaceful outlook in our individual lives....
No matter how daunting the challenges in our lives or in the world around us, we know we can have peace through the power of the infinite Atonement because Christ overcame the world. Faith in Jesus Christ and in His Atonement engenders the hope of deliverance and the promise of a better world to come. Using this “eye of faith” (Ether 12:19) to see the fulfilling of the Savior’s promises deepens the peace within us because we know of the great blessings and relief that await us if we will only remain faithful. Even in troubled times we have a great promise of peace from the Lord: “He who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23)."
Thank you sooo much for all that you do for me! :D i'm SOOO Sorry if you haven't gotten an individual response this week,I'll get you one next week! <3